Assay for determining analyte using mercury release followed by detection via interaction with aluminum

Abstract

An assay employing a tracer comprising a ligand having a mercury label wherein mercury label is released from at least one of a bound or free tracer phase and interacts with a metal. Analyte is determined by a change in at least one property of the metal caused by such interaction. The invention also relates to a device for such an assay wherein mercury ions released from a free or bound tracer are caused to eventually amalgamate with a metal, and the presence and/or amount of analyte is determined by changes in the metal resulting from the eventual amalgamation which may be measured electrically or by other means. The invention also relates to novel assay instruments, novel lancets, assay sensors, assay sensor packets, instrumentation and combinations of assay components, and related methods.

What is claimed and desired to be secured by United States Letters Patent is: 
     
       1. In an assay for an analyte, the improvement comprising: forming in the assay a bound tracer phase and a free tracer phase, said tracer being a ligand labeled with mercury;   releasing mercury from at least one of the bound and free tracer phases;   interacting released mercury with aluminum and determining analyte by determining a change in at least one property of the aluminum caused by said interaction.   
     
     
       2. The assay of claim 1 wherein said tracer further comprises a carrier group comprised of a copolymer comprised of a first portion, said first portion being attached to said mercury label and a hydrophilic second portion, said second portion being attached to said ligand. 
     
     
       3. The assay of claim 2 wherein said mercury label comprises a plurality of mercury atoms attached to said carrier group. 
     
     
       4. The assay of claim 3 wherein said first portion of said copolymer is a polyethyleneimine, and said second portion of said copolymer is a polyoxyalkylene. 
     
     
       5. The assay of claim 4 wherein said polyoxyalkylene further includes an end group, said end group being capable of being linked to the ligand portion of said tracer. 
     
     
       6. The assay of claim 5 wherein said end group is an epoxy group. 
     
     
       7. The assay of claim 1 wherein said assay is a competitive assay. 
     
     
       8. The assay of claim 1 wherein said assay is a sandwich assay. 
     
     
       9. The assay of claim 1 wherein said assay is an indirect sandwich assay. 
     
     
       10. The assay of claim 1 wherein the analyte is DNA (RNA) and the tracer is a DNA (RNA) probe labeled with mercury. 
     
     
       11. In an assay for an analyte, the improvement comprising: forming in the assay a bound tracer phase and a free tracer phase contacting at least one of the bound and free tracer phase with a substrate including immobilized mercury, said tracer including a label which interacts with the substrate to mobilize mercury;   interacting mobilized mercury with aluminum; and   determining analyte, by determining a change in at least one property of the aluminum caused by said interaction.   
     
     
       12. The assay of claim 11 wherein the mercury in a mobilized form is linked to a polymer and the mercury linked to a polymer is contacted with a releasing agent to release mercury from the polymer prior to interaction with the aluminum. 
     
     
       13. The assay of claim 1 whereby releasing mercury from either the free or bound tracer phases is accomplished by interaction with a displacing agent. 
     
     
       14. The assay of claim 13 where the displacing agent consists of one or more of the salts of nickel (Ni), copper (Cu), iron (Fe), ammonia (NH r   + ), manganese (Mn), magnesium (Mg) lithium (Li), sodium (Na) and calcium (Ca), either singly or in combination. 
     
     
       15. The assay of claim 1 whereby releasing mercury from either the free or bound tracer phases is accomplished by change of pH. 
     
     
       16. The assay of claim 11 whereby releasing mercury from either the free or bound tracer phases is accomplished by interaction with a displacing agent. 
     
     
       17. The assay of claim 16 wherein the displacing agent consists of one or more of the slats of nickel (Ni), copper (Cu), iron (Fe), ammonia (NH 4   + ), manganese (Mn), magnesium (Mg) lithium (Li), sodium (Na) and calcium (Ca), either singly or in combination. 
     
     
       18. The assay of claim 11 whereby releasing mercury from either the free or bound tracer phases is accomplished by change of pH.